public beach access in Virginia Beach (rent, amusement park, restaurants)

[tailsock]

Hi everyone. My family will be taking a beach break on a road trip in VA Beach. We are very excited about a clean alternative to Myrtle Beach SC. My question is can somebody recommend parking near public access with restroom facilities for showering before going back on the road? Thanks!

[mpier015]

There are a number of public parking lots on and off of Pacific Avenue costing anywhere from 5-10 dollars. There is also meter parking on most of the side streets off of Atlantic. The city operates a trolley up and down Atlantic avenue for about 2 dollars you if you want to explore different ends of the beach. The entrances to the board walk usually have the outdoor sand showers but I'm not quite sure where you could find a more private shower. There are also bathrooms in the area.

[tailsock]

Thank you for your reply. We are more or less looking for a good spot to park and unload the toddlers with a nearby bathroom (if a private one is around). We probably won't be doing any exploring but simply looking for a good place to drop anchor.

[mpier015]

I would start looking for a good anchor spot around 21st street and Pacific. It is a pretty central location of the beach with a lot of shops and restaurants near. Also, there are a lot of parking areas near here and a McDonalds(with a public bathroom).

[cully]

Go to this link below. Even though it says "maps" it's so much more than that. Page down just a little bit and you will see a map and the key beside it that shows restrooms and public parking areas. There used to be tall shower heads to rinse off at the public parking entrances to the boardwalk. But people would take their shampoo and conditioner and take forever as the line grew longer as they showered. I guess that's why we see the shorter ones. There has been some reworking on the boardwalk so there are at least those at every area where you access the sand. There used to be foot rinse offs as well but they may have combined them into the one.

There are lots of fun sculptures at the public access areas for great photo opportunities. There is a nice playground at 2nd St. in the sand off the boardwalk. Also a small one in the sand at around 10th and one a little larger at Laskin (equates to 31st). There is a smallish retro amusement park beside the boardwalk between 15th and 16th.

You can rent bicycles and surries with a canopy for 2 or maybe even 6 or so. The boardwalk is about 30' wide. Beside it is a winding landscaped two lane bicycle path. The beach in many parts is about a football field out.

The boardwalk is concrete. Be sure to have sunglasses and sun lotion as the sun really reflects off all those surfaces.

The souvenir shops are the next block parallel with the boardwalk, Atlantic Ave.

The google car did travel the boardwalk there! A couple of years ago and in Nov but still good. They were putting up decorations for the miles of Christmas Lights.


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